Monzo hires ahead of US launch

The digital bank has begun hiring local staff in Los Angeles, according to reports.

Digital bank Monzo has begun hiring local staff as it prepares for its US launch.

The London-based app-only lender has posted job adverts for an office in Los Angeles, which will act as its base, according to The Daily Telegraph.

It does not have a US banking licence, but it is believed to be planning a soft launch in similar fashion to its UK business, which debuted with an app and a pre-paid card.

The move comes as a range of European based digital banks plot US launches in a bid to add scale to their businesses.

German challenger bank N26, which has 4.5 million customers, and London-based rival Revolut, which has amassed more than 3 million users, both plan American launches this year.

Most of these services are loss-making and are competing to add users, which they later hope to turn into profitable customers. However, fintech firms continue to attract billions from investors who believe this wave of companies can emulate Big Tech giants such as Facebook and Google.

Monzo is “planning to launch in the US in the next few months”, according to a job listing for its Los Angeles office seen by the newspaper.

The start up was founded by Tom Blomfield in 2015, has 1.8 million customers, and has raised more than £200m from investors.

Last month, it emerged that Monzo is in the final stage of closing $100m of fresh funding from US investors, led by Silicon Valley venture capital business Y Combinator.

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